How accurate is Shaheen, the World Cup predicting camel? We take a look

The 971 Report•8 July 2014

In just under a week, football fans the world over will find out who will take home the 2014 World Cup.

And with only three major games to go, we thought it was time to check in with our very own resident animal soothsayer: Shaheen, the camel.

Discovered by local newspaper Gulf News, the Dubai-based beast has been predicting the winners of the key matches right from the start of the tournament.

Despite rumours he was slaughtered (the internet is a cruel place), Shaheen is alive and well and still predicting matches.

SUCCESS RATE

But is the furry beast any good? He started off with a bang, but then had a string of misses. Of the 27 matches he has predicted so far, Shaheen has been right 17 times. That's a success rate of 63%. He was in top form during the round of 16, where he predicted seven of the eight winners correctly.

To compare, the legend of World Cup 2010, Paul the Octopus, had an 80% success rate in the final stages.

Hosts Brazil face Germany in the first semi-final on Tuesday, and according to Shaheen, they should progress.

However, in two of Germany's previous clashes, Shaheen picked the opponents (France and Portugal) to win, so perhaps Brazil has something other than losing star player Neymar to worry about.